Tooth brush



July 14, 1936. H. BROWN 2,047,613 TOOTH BRUSH Filed Jan. 5, 1935 Jienzy,Bcown Patented July 14, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE:

Too'rn BRUSH Y I IIenry Brown, Raleigh, N. C. Y l li atieai nuaryfa,1935, Serial No. 299

iol'aim. "(01. 306 3) My invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in tooth brushes, and has for an object to provide a brushwhich will be more efficient than those now in use in that provision ismade for conveniently rotating the brush with regard to the handle tothe desired set position.

Withthe brushes now in use, it is rather a difficult matter to wellclean the insides of the upper teeth due to the narrowness of the dentalarch but by providing a relatively small brush which may be set at rightangles with respect to the handle and also by providing a brush whereinthe bristles of the same are placed in an arcuate manner, that is, thebristles at the center of the brush being longer than those near theends and curving the brush back, it is relatively an easy matter to wellclean and polish the insides of not only the front teeth but all of theteeth in the upper jaw. Further, by providing a brush of this kind, itmakes it possible to better clean and polish all of the teeth in thelower jaw.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tooth brushwherein the brush has embedded therein two spring disks of a corrugatednature, so that the brush proper can be conveniently set at the desiredangle by a slight movement of the hand.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a tooth brushwherein the bristles are arranged in an arcuate manner to convenientlyfit the mouth and to provide an offset handle which is cut away, so thatthe brush proper may be revolved and set as desired with respect to thehandle.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnew and novel arrangements and combination of parts, as will behereinafter more'fully described and pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the tooth brush;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof with the head shown in one adjustedposition in dot and dash lines;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail of the handle memberof the brush;

Fig. 3a. is a bottom plan view of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of the brush back;

Fig. 4a, is a detail top plan view of Fig. 4

Fig. '5 is a detail view of the pivot stud and washer therefor.

Referring now to the drawing showing a preferred embodiment, there isshown the handle I which is preferably offset slightly, as at 2, and

thencut back at its forward endjas at 3, so'that the brush backiforbrush proper 4 maybe fitted Within the cut-back portion andbe permittedto I revolve without interference from the handle.

In Fig. 3, I have shown fragmentarily in sec- 5 tion the forward end ofthe handle and slightly remote from the end the same is bored ordrilled, as at 5, with the countersink 6, while from the bore 5 extendsthe opening 5 through which a stud 1 (see Fig. 5) may pass. Also aboutthe walls of the bore, there is formed a small chamber 8, so that aspring disk or plate 9 may be fitted, which is held in positionpreferably by the studs or rivets l0. 1

In a like manner, the brush proper or brush 5 back 4 is provided with anopening I I registering with the bore I2 and the countersink portion l3,and also about the bore is formed a small chamber M, in which is placedanother metal disk l5 of flexible steel, this metal disk being held inposition by the small studs Hi. The under sur-- face (Fig. 4) of thisbrush back is also provided with the pockets I! into which the bristlesl 8 will be cemented.

Each of these small cooperating flexible disklike members is providedwith corrugations or raised portions l9 and 20, respectively, or, ofcourse, if considered from the bottom, they would be indentations. Eachplate is provided with eight of these so that when the indentationsregister, for instance, and one raised portion fits in the correspondingindented portion, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the brush backwill be frictionally held in set position. To change the position of thebrush, it will be necessary to slightly force the brush back around withthe fingers, so that the plates may be slightly sprung apart until theraised portions again register and thus snap the brush head in place.

To assemble the brush and the handle, it is only necessary to place thepin 1 up through the brush head and through the small opening in thehandle and the little washer 1 may then be forced down into the bore 5and the end of the pin 1 hammered to thus, in reality, rivet the twoparts together. Of course, if it were desired to use a threaded pin andnut, it might be substituted for the manner of fastening shown.

It is also to be noticed that the brush proper 4 on its under surface isarcuate in form and the bristles l8 will form an arcuate line, so thatwhen the brush back is turned to the position as shown in Fig. 2 (dotand dash lines), the handle may be held in a vertical position in themouth and the bristles will substantially follow the curve of the dentalarch.

As heretofore mentioned, the little plates or disks are preferably madeof a flexible or spring steel, so that when the brush back is rotated,they will, although springingly or frictionally held together, flex orbend slightly without placing too great a. strain on their littleholding studs.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a tooth brushhaving an offset handle to allow for the rotation of the brush properand have also provided a practical, as well as a useful, manner ofspringingly holding the brush back or brush proper to the handle, whileby arranging the bristles to provide an arcuate periphery the brushproper may be turned at right angles to the handle and when placed inthe mouth will be in a position to clean the teeth in the upper dentalarch.

I am aware that it is old to make tooth brushes with a pivotal brushproper and I do not claim my invention broadly as such, but what I doclaim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

In a tooth brush, a handle and a head, the handle having its upper endofiset and out back from the end, said cut-back portion having a chamberformed therein and a bore centrally of said chamber extending throughsaid offset portion of the handle, a corrugated apertured disk offlexible metal fixed in said chamber, the head

